ETHANMILLER/GETTY IMAGES
elderMcGraw (whopassed away in2004)
untilTim turned18.Asaboy,hewasaware
thathewasmissingthehappyhomelifethat
manyofhis friendsenjoyed.
Hedreamedof becomingaprofessional
athlete like his father until a knee injury
madethat impossible, soheboughtaguitar
andbeganperforming locally, eventually
droppingout of college andmoving toMu-
sicCity in 1989. Twoyears later, his father
passed a demo tape to aCurbRecords ex-
ecutive. That quickly led to a recorddeal.
AlthoughTimearnedhisfirstNo. 1 album
three years later, andhis career has been
onnothingbut anupward trajectory since,
he still seeshimself asadarkhorse. “I like
feeling like I’m theunderdog— like Ihave
somethingtoprove,”hesays.
Still, he’s all toohappy tohelpup-and-
coming singers prove themselves aswell.
Recognized as a pioneer of the current
country-rockmovement that includes art-
istssuchasJasonAldean,EricChurchand
KipMoore, he generously and frequently
mentors younger artists. In 2011, for in-
stance,hetraveledtoLosAngelestoperform
aduet on the
American Idol
10th-seasonfi-
nalewitheventualwinnerScottyMcCreery,
andtheirrelationshiphascontinuedsince.
“Timhasbeengreat,” saysMcCreery, 19.
“My first timemeetinghimwas the
Idol
fi-
nale, andhe came in there and toldme it
wasmyshowandthathewantedtomakeme
lookgood.Hegavemea lotoftipsandreally
helpedmeout.He’sbeen really supportive
eversince,andhe’sagreatguyallaround.”
AndTaylor Swift —who launched her
careerwitha song called “TimMcGraw”—
joinsMcGrawandKeithUrbanon thesong
“Highway Don’t Care” onMcGraw’s new
album.
“I’vealwaysfeltlikeTimandFaitharetwo
of thebestpeople incountrymusic,”Swift
says. “They’vebeen there formeover the
years in somanyways. That kindof friend-
shipand support builds trust. I knewTim
wouldn’taskme tosingonasongunlesshe
wasabsolutelyfiredupaboutit.Itturnedout
tobe something Iwas reallyexcitedabout,
too—not tomention it’s obviously, like, a
childhooddream come true to sing aduet
withoneofmymusicalheroes.Itdoesn’tget
muchcoolerthanthat.”
FRIENDS INHIGHPLACES:
McGrawperforming
withpalsKeithUrbanandTaylor Swift atMcGraw’s
Superstar SummerNight at LasVegas’MGMGrand
GardenArena thispastApril
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